# Lessons learned the hard way
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [June 11, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737 "2017-06-11T23:53:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2017, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/1 "2017-06-11T23:53:31Z")
Do not pour gasoline into a styrofoam container.
Do not attempt to drink anything or put on eye makeup if there is a cat anywhere near your elbow.
When using an instant-read thermometer that opens like a jacknife (e.g., a [Thermapen](https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GEA56W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1)), do not close it with your bare hand immediately after pulling it out of the hot item.
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### Author:  [@Athabasca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athabasca)
#### Post date: [June 11, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/2 "2017-06-11T23:58:01Z")
Ditto on the cat, but I keep doing it! She wants to sit on my lap,while I drink my coffee, and she dunks the tip of her tail in my cup. Every. Time.
Also, don’t lift the used coffee filter out of the Cuisinart coffee maker with only one hand. It will tear, dropping wet grounds all over. It needs two hands.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/3 "2017-06-12T00:27:48Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> Do not pour gasoline into a styrofoam container.
Relatedly: do not pour paint thinner into a plastic cup. then leave it sitting on a vinyl-topped card table. Solvents are impressive things.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/4 "2017-06-12T00:38:04Z")
Don’t hire a divorce lawyer, just cough up the money to your ex and move on.
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### Author:  [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/5 "2017-06-12T01:05:31Z")
Squirt on liquid wrench first and wait. Re apply it 6 times if you have to, and then use normal pressure with the screwdriver.
Don’t strip the head of the screw.
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### Author:  [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/6 "2017-06-12T01:27:32Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> or put on eye makeup if there is a cat anywhere near your elbow.
Could you submit pictorial evidence of this? 😃
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### Author:  [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/7 "2017-06-12T01:27:43Z")
Things can indeed, be worse.
Also you can, in fact, get more lost.
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### Author:  [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/8 "2017-06-12T03:38:58Z")
Dish-washing soap and dish-washing detergent are two completely different things. Do no use the former in your dishwasher.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/9 "2017-06-12T03:59:46Z")
Always cut towards your chum, not your thumb.
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### Author:  [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/10 "2017-06-12T05:33:35Z")
Gun barrels get hot when fired.
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### Author:  [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/11 "2017-06-12T07:09:46Z")
Don’t rub your eyes after handling jalapeno peppers.
Don’t masturbate, either.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/12 "2017-06-12T10:31:54Z")
> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> Don’t hire a divorce lawyer, just cough up the money to your ex and move on.
Right. One is going to continue to screw you and the other isn’t but they will be in the wrong order.
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/13 "2017-06-12T11:01:58Z")
Do not attempt to carry an empty 30 gallon aquarium by the top and when it begins to slip out of the plastic rim slam your knee up to keep it from falling. (I still have the scars running across 3 fingers decades later.)
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### Author:  [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/14 "2017-06-12T14:36:11Z")
Just two words…CREDIT CARDS!!
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### Author:  [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/15 "2017-06-12T15:39:39Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> Don’t masturbate, either.
In general, or is this specific to the jalapeno situation? In any case, I can think of lots of possible scenarios where it applies.
Waiting at a pedestrian crossing: Wait for the light. Look both ways. Also, don’t masturbate.
When giving a power point presentation: Keep it informative and to the point. Don’t masturbate.
Dinner with girlfriend’s parents: Be polite and respectful. Also… oh, you get the idea.
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### Author:  [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/16 "2017-06-12T15:46:36Z")
If you do choose to walk 9 holes when golfing for the first time this year, don’t wear the brand new, un-broken-in shoes. You will get huge blisters that take 2 months to heal.
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### Author:  [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/17 "2017-06-12T16:02:34Z")
When using a mandoline to slice food, be sure to use the hand guard, or buy and use of those special no-cut gloves.
When cleaning the kitty litter box, do not use a cleanser which includes a lot of bleach. Cat piss is high in ammonia.
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### Author:  [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/18 "2017-06-12T16:40:45Z")
> [@Patch](#):
>
> Dish-washing soap and dish-washing detergent are two completely different things. Do no use the former in your dishwasher.
I learned this lesson too, some years ago, and have never forgotten it. You don’t forget suds frothing out over the kitchen floor, unexpectedly turning your life into a wacky sitcom episode.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/19 "2017-06-12T17:04:23Z")
When reaching for the soldering iron, pay attention to which end you are grabbing.
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### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [June 12, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lessons-learned-the-hard-way/788737/20 "2017-06-12T17:04:59Z")
If you are doing a little bit of hobby soldering and you happen to knock the iron off the bench top, try not to catch it.
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